Gunman in ballistic vest kills 5 adults, injures 2 children in Philadelphia mass shooting, police say

Five adults have died and two children were injured in a mass shooting in the southwest Philadelphia neighborhood of Kingsessing on the eve of Independence Day, WPVI and other outlets reported.

The suspected gunman, 40-year-old Kimbrady Carriker, is in police custody, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Tuesday morning.

"Our officers were able to apprehend the male in the rear alley of 1600 Frazier Street and when they did, this male was wearing a bulletproof vest with multiple magazines. He also had a (police) scanner, an AR-style rifle and a handgun underneath his body," Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said in a press conference following the mass shooting in Kingsessing.

"We have absolutely no idea why this happened," Outlaw also said. "At this point, all we know is that this person left their home and decided to target individuals."

People flagged officers down around 8:30 near 56th Street and Chester Avenue when the shooting broke out, WTXF reported.

As officers were preparing to transport gunshot victims, they heard more gunshots nearby, Outlaw told reporters. They caught up with Carriker near Frazer Street, investigators said.

Officers engaged Carriker as he was firing with a rifle, eventually cornering him in a back alley and taking him into custody without officers firing back.

The five people killed, one of whom was found several hours later, were all men and were between the ages of 20 and 59. The children who were injured by gunfire are in stable condition. One is a 2-year-old toddler; the other is 13 years old.

A second individual was also taken into custody. That person may have fired back at the gunman during the chaotic event, Outlaw also said, as WTXF reported.

"Thank God our officers were here on scene, they responded as quickly as they did, I can't even describe the level of bravery and courage that was shown in addition to the restraint," Outlaw said.

Tina Rosette, 49, told the Inquirer she lived with Carriker for about a year and moved out about a year ago when she said she believed Carriker was in "a dark place."

Rosette added that Carriker "sometimes taught young people how to fight, purportedly in self-defense, but didn't give them much direction about how or when to stop." She told the outlet she did not know Carriker had a gun.

Tina Rosette's daughter, 24-year-old Cianni Rosette, told the Inquirer that Carriker did show her a handgun several times. She added that Carriker was "trying to get me comfortable around guns and stuff like that."

Watch coverage from WPVI below of a mass shooting in the Kingsessing section of Philadelphia on the eve of Independence Day that left five people dead and two children injured.

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